C3S Researchers Demonstrate New Security Devices to Detect Intruders

Congressman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., leaders of the data storage industry and local venture capitalists will see some of CMU's newest security research to keep "cyberthiefs" at bay. The research, now under way by more than 25 faculty at a new $35.5 million Center for Computer and Communications Security's (C3S), includes studying how to use signature, fingerprints, iris patterns, face recognition technology and voice scans to confirm the identity of computer users. The center is also developing ways to incorporate artificial intelligence into hardware so that components such as disk drives can take countermeasures in a hacker attack. Some of the hands-on demonstrations will feature a new interactive face identification program, the use of air ducts in buildings as wireless transmitters and a new picture-coded access system for computer users.

U.S. businesses spent approximately $55 billion last year on devices created to make data more secure from theft, according to a recent report by the Council on Competitiveness, a nonpartisan Washington, D.C., think-tank that includes representatives from business, labor and academia.